The Pre-Decision Playbook: Building Trust Before B2B Buyers Choose
Emily Askham, CMO at Natixis Investment Management, explores the crucial role of marketing in building trust within the B2B financial sector. She highlights strategies for fostering credibility, including voice-of-the-customer programs and third-party research. The discussion also covers proactive problem-solving and CX-driven differentiation for long-term success.
In this enlightening episode of the C-Suite Sales and Marketing Perspectives Podcast, Emily Askham, CMO at Natixis Investment Management, explores the critical role of marketing in building and maintaining trust in the B2B sector, particularly within financial services. She highlights trust as the foundation of strong client relationships and shares strategies for measuring and reinforcing it effectively. The conversation also delves into the “pre-decision playbook,” offering insights on how businesses can engage potential customers long before a sale occurs.
Emily provides actionable guidance on leveraging trust to enhance customer relationships and drive sales performance. She emphasizes the value of voice-of-the-customer programs and third-party research in understanding client needs and establishing credibility. Additionally, she discusses how proactive problem-solving and strategic partnerships can improve customer experience (CX), reinforcing McKinsey’s findings that CX is a key differentiator for successful businesses. Through her insights, Emily underscores the evolving role of CMOs in fostering trust, strengthening customer connections, and driving organizational growth.
“Most people will listen to you if they like you. But unless they trust you, they won’t do business with you. That’s why trust is the most critical part of it.” – Emily Askham
The interactive podbook below contains:
- Emily Askham’s introduction video
- Full Episode video, audio, transcript, and article
- 11 Summary Videos + 1 Summary Article
- YouTube Short Post
Article: “The Pre-Decision Playbook: Building Trust Before B2B Buyers Choose”
This article is based on a podcast interview with Emily Askham, Chief Marketing Officer at Natixis Investment Managers
The Strategic Importance of Trust in B2B Sales
In business, trust is indispensable, as is personal relationships. Emily states, “If you don’t trust the people or the organizations looking after your money, then what’s left in the relationship?” This couldn’t be more pertinent in B2B scenarios where long sales cycles, sometimes lasting 12 to 18 months, rely heavily on trust to bridge periods of uncertainty and decision-making.
Trust in B2B relationships means more than just favorability; it encompasses clients’ confidence in you to understand their specific needs and consistently deliver on promises. Emily emphasizes, “It’s really about changing that role and having products and solutions that meet client needs.” Aligning solutions with clients’ unique problems is crucial to fostering trust. Additionally, openness about a company’s capabilities is essential. Customers seek assurance that their partners are listening and adapting rather than just pushing products.
Elevating the Voice of the Customer
To truly understand and empower their clients, organizations must hone in on the voice of the customer. Emily discusses the pivotal role of the marketing department in this regard, noting that marketing can no longer be siloed. Instead, it should integrate deeply with every facet of the organization to reflect customer needs and feedback. “Marketing runs the qualitative research,” she mentions, detailing how such efforts lead to more informed action plans company-wide.
This perspective shift challenges companies to redefine their structure, adopting a voice-of-the-customer strategy that influences everything from service delivery to product development. By doing so, organizations can engage in genuine conversations with their customers, breaking away from the transactional dynamics of typical sales interactions. Emily underscores this approach with the insight, “Without starting that process, we don’t have anything.”
Proactive Problem Solving and Customer Experience
Proactivity in addressing customer concerns firmly secures trust. In instances of market volatility, Emily advises, “Making sure that you can communicate, making sure that you’re proactive, that’s all going to build that trust.” Being ahead in understanding client anxieties enables companies to act as true partners rather than mere vendors reacting to crises.
Furthermore, enhancing customer experience (CX) appears as a powerful differentiator. Emily notes that exceptional onboarding and retention practices aren’t merely internal efficiencies but customer retention strategies. Aligning these elements ensures that each touchpoint with the customer conveys a seamless, trust-rich experience.
Prominent studies, like the one conducted by McKinsey in 2023, identified CX as the number one differentiator in highly profitable companies. By controlling and curating the entire customer journey, from initial engagement to ongoing support, companies can maintain a stronghold on trust and loyalty, driving both satisfaction and advocacy.
Conclusion
Reflecting on Emily Askham’s insights, it is evident that trust is both the goal and outcome of sophisticated, customer-centric B2B strategies. The transformation comes when trust moves beyond the abstract and becomes measurable through improved customer experiences, increased referrals, and sustained relationships. This journey warrants a collective effort, embracing cross-departmental contributions underpinned by a clear understanding of the customer’s voice and needs. Let the symphony of trust be both the guiding principle and the enduring anthem in the dynamic B2B marketing and sales arena.
ELEVATING CONTENT MARKETING STANDARDS RAISES A CRUCIAL QUESTION:
Why shouldn’t the very act of creating thought leadership content also spark new conversations with in-pipeline deals, top prospects, and high-priority customers for revenue expansion? Or serve as the cornerstone for learning and applying voice-of-customer strategies? That’s the power of ABM Podcasting—engaging B2B buyers and customers in meaningful conversations that uncover essential go-to-market insights, support long sales cycles, reinforce your market perspective, build peer-level trust, and dismantle objections that kill deals.
Steven MacDonald
Steven MacDonald is the founder of Content Strategies, CEO of a MarTech SaaS Company, fractional CMO consulting with leading B2B companies and former Director of Strategy and Client Service at top ten digital marketing agencies.
Steven MacDonald
Steven MacDonald is the founder of Content Strategies, CEO of a MarTech SaaS Company, fractional CMO consulting with leading B2B companies and former Director of Strategy and Client Service at top ten digital marketing agencies.
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